Chapter 268: Blood Staining The Yellow Sand

Chapter 268: Blood Stains the Yellow Sands

Yue Hongling gave him a deep look, but said nothing.

She was far from certain—no matter how much she could perceive, it could never match the clarity of one who had truly opened a secret vault. All she had was a vague, blurred sense. Her talk of "making him capsize" was merely said to set Zhao Changhe at ease; in truth, she hoped he would leave quickly, as she had already steeled herself for a brutal, desperate battle.

But she never expected Zhao Changhe to say such a thing.

She did not act like a lovesick girl, only smiled faintly and said, "Then let's go together."

The raging sandstorm lashed at their eyes, forcing them both to squint, leaving only the narrowest slits as they struggled to see the yellow sands ahead.

Vaguely, someone walked toward them, silent amidst the howling wind.

In such an environment, death could come without a sound... Zhao Changhe activated his rear eye to the fullest, turning his head this way and that. Though he appeared to be squinting, his rear eye saw clearly—deep within the yellow sands, many figures were retreating.

At this moment, Batu and his men had already ceased fighting, all struggling to withdraw.

Zhao Changhe let out a breath. At least there was no ambush from others.

Even Hu Lie's subordinates were retreating. They could no longer survive in such a harsh environment—not fighting, but mere survival was a challenge. If they didn't leave now, they would die in the sandstorm. Fortunately, the area where the storm's intensity had been artificially altered was small, and they could still make it to the milder outer edges.

This was why Hu Lie had not used this tactic earlier—he feared his own men could not endure it.

In truth, his own consumption was immense. Harnessing and altering the power of heaven and earth came at a great cost to him. At this moment, his combat strength had dropped significantly compared to before, but he could no longer afford to care. Batu had inexplicably turned against him, and that pair of dogs and bitches were unexpectedly strong. If he didn't do this, he might not be able to keep them.

The curved blade was dull and shadowless, riding the wind of the sandstorm as it silently sliced toward Yue Hongling's throat.

Hu Lie's Sandstorm Blade Technique, perfectly merged with the raging sands.

If one could not see it, they might have their throat cut without ever knowing where the blade came from.

Yue Hongling indeed seemed completely blind to it, showing no reaction. She raised a hand to shield her eyes, stepping back as if she too intended to retreat.

Hu Lie's cautious heart relaxed slightly. Indeed, whether one had opened a secret vault was the dividing line between mortals. Yue Hongling had reached the pinnacle of ordinary martial artists, but she was still mortal! As for that Zhao Changhe, he was covering his head with both hands not far to the side, utterly silent. Let him survive this sandstorm first!

As this thought flashed through his mind, his blade was already at Yue Hongling's throat.

It felt as if the next moment he would sever her neck. Hu Lie even pulled back some of his strength, intending to change from a slash to a slap, thinking Yue Hongling was nothing special and could be captured alive.

The moment he eased his force, Yue Hongling, who had been shielding her eyes and retreating, suddenly moved.

Her long sword burst forth as if the setting sun had spilled into the yellow sands, radiating a thousand miles of twilight glow.

Hu Lie's heart skipped a beat. Damn it, Yue Hongling could play dirty too?

Could she see?

"Clang!" Blade and sword clashed. The surrounding yellow sands seemed to scatter from the impact, creating a small, clear space between them. Around them, the sandstorm raged on, but before their eyes, blade and sword met with dazzling light.

Yue Hongling, who had been slightly inferior to him and had been at a disadvantage in their previous exchanges, now matched him evenly!

And that wasn't all. At the same moment, not far to the side, Zhao Changhe—who had appeared to be clutching his head—suddenly let out a furious roar as his Longque blade howled. It erupted with a savage aura far surpassing anything he had shown in battle before. The almost tangible killing intent and pressure seemed to condense into energy. This was not Zhao Changhe's own power—he was channeling the might of Longque itself!

"Roar!" The blade's cry drowned out even the howling of the sandstorm, a dragon's roar piercing the heavens.

This was the power of the divine weapon that Zhao Changhe had been suppressing, the one that could go toe-to-toe with the Sword Emperor's phantom blade. Now, in this deadly yellow sand, it unleashed its terrifying might!

Damn it, this pair of dogs and bitches—who was setting a trap for whom!

Yue Hongling could see, fine. But how the hell could Zhao Changhe see!

Hu Lie had no time to think. The moment his blade clashed with Yue Hongling's sword, Longque was already at his neck.

But Zhao Changhe's supposedly killing blow did not land either.

The curved blade touched the long sword and parted instantly, seizing the briefest interval to also strike Longque. It was almost as if a single blade had simultaneously struck both Yue Hongling's sword and Zhao Changhe's blade, as if one knife had split into two.

Then two became three, three became ten thousand. Amidst the swirling yellow sands, blade-light was everywhere. The wind and sand merged with the blade, so that wherever the sandstorm passed, blade-light followed. Hu Lie's figure seemed to have vanished entirely, hidden by the blade's momentum within the storm.

He had pushed the power of the sandstorm and the deception of visual perception to their absolute limits—beyond human capability!

Yue Hongling and Zhao Changhe both let out muffled grunts. Blood splattered from their arms and bodies, and terror seized their hearts.

Both were on the Human Rankings, but Hu Lie was far stronger than Fa Qing, far stronger than the Black Wolf King.

Even with his misjudgment and depleted strength, facing their long-planned, underhanded killing strike, it was they who ended up wounded.

Was the top fifty really this formidable?

But clearly, Hu Lie himself was not unscathed. They could sense that his blade's momentum was weaker than before the storm intensified. He too was weakening.

Yue Hongling closed her eyes completely.

She stopped trying to distinguish the indistinguishable sand and blade-light, stopped searching for Hu Lie's figure.

She trusted only her heart.

"Clang!" The afterglow of sunset pierced the yellow sands, and sword-light cut through the blade's radiance.

Hu Lie, hidden in the sand, could no longer conceal himself. He parried the sword with his blade, but behind him, Longque roared once more.

The curved blade twisted oddly, slashing toward Yue Hongling's ribs, trying to force her back so he could turn to face Zhao Changhe.

But Yue Hongling's eyes were closed. She might not have seen or sensed that strange, light blade stroke, but she felt the roar of Zhao Changhe's broadsword.

So she did not dodge. She struck out with her sword again, sealing off Hu Lie's escape route from Longque.

Perhaps she knew everything, but she was resolute. Against such a powerful foe, how could they win without trading wounds?

Zhao Changhe's heart leaped. Hu Lie was also horrified: "You damn—"

The curved blade sliced across her ribs, blood spattering onto the yellow sands. Yue Hongling let out a muffled groan, but her sword's path did not change.

Hu Lie could no longer pull his blade back in time to block Longque. With his side sealed off by her sword, he had no room to dodge. In a desperate move, he twisted his curved blade back, thrusting it toward Zhao Changhe's ribs, hoping the man would be wise enough to evade.

Zhao Changhe did not change his blade's trajectory. It slammed heavily into Hu Lie's neck. At the same time, a sharp pain shot through his ribs as the curved blade cut into him, wounding him in the same spot as Yue Hongling.

Hu Lie twisted his body in an unnatural way. Longque seemed not to have struck fully; blood sprayed as he vanished into the yellow sands. It was unclear how badly he was wounded... or even whether he had fled far or was lurking in the sand, waiting to ambush them.

The pair of dogs and bitches exchanged a glance, but neither had the strength to stand. Almost simultaneously, they fell to one knee.

Their wounds tore open, true qi rampaging unchecked through their bodies. Sand and dust invaded the cuts, stinging like salt. Sweat beaded on their foreheads, only to be covered by the sand, turning into grime.

Zhao Changhe crawled painfully over to Yue Hongling, helped her up, and fumbled for two pills. He fed one to her: "How are you?"

"I'm fine..." Yue Hongling felt a little ashamed of leaning against him like this. She tried to force herself up, but let out another groan and collapsed back.

So she gave up struggling, lying limply in his arms: "It's unfair. Our wounds are almost identical, so why do you seem to have more strength than me?"

Zhao Changhe grinned beneath the cloth covering his face.

There was no other reason. His physique had already changed. He might not be as invulnerable as Si Tu Xiao, but he could still take more punishment than an ordinary person.

A stinky bear, after all, had thicker hide.

As for the true qi invading his body, the Six Harmonies Divine Art seemed to offer better resistance and self-healing than Yue Hongling's.

Unfortunately, their supplies were on the horses, and they had nothing to bind their wounds now. That was troublesome.

Zhao Changhe said in a low voice, "Hold on. I'll help you to the horses. We can treat the wounds there."

Yue Hongling hummed in acknowledgment and struggled to her feet. Zhao Changhe said nothing more, supporting her as they staggered, one step high, one step low, painfully making their way out.

He said he was helping her, but both were sweating from the pain. They could only lean on each other, moving slowly.

Blood dripped from their bodies, drop by drop, leaving two trails of red in the desert—a testament to their shared ordeal.

They had no leisure to think of tenderness or sweetness, or what to name their children. Their hearts were heavy with grim resolve.

Because at this very moment, it was the most dangerous—what if Huliè suddenly struck from the sand?

If it were just the injury, that might be bearable, but the key was that Yue Hongling had lost her spiritual perception from the wound, and her eyes could no longer withstand the sandstorm. She struggled to shield her eyes, tears streaming down, looking utterly humiliated as if she had been beaten into crying. How could she fend off a sneak attack?

But Zhao Changhe was different—he had never relied on spiritual perception from the start.

What he relied on was the eye at the back of his head, which the sand could not block.

Behind them, beneath the ground, the yellow sand quietly swelled, slowly trailing after the two as they moved.

A blood-red eye lurked within the sand, savage and vengeful.

"You've wounded me like this, and you think I'll let you two bastards walk out alive?"

A curved blade silently emerged from the sand, aiming to sever both their Achilles tendons in one stroke.

"In your current state, how can you possibly dodge my attack?"

"Bang!" Longque suddenly stabbed backward, plunging straight into the sand. At the same time, Zhao Changhe hugged Yue Hongling and leaped forward, dodging the blade.

Yue Hongling: "..."

Huliè: "???"

How could he have imagined that Zhao Changhe was still putting on an act at a time like this? And even more baffling, how the hell did Zhao Changhe see that?

This was no longer a matter of spiritual perception—it was as if he had eyes wide open staring behind him!

From start to finish, did this sandstorm and this visibility have no effect on Zhao Changhe at all? Was he just fighting as if it were a normal battle?

Huliè had no time to think further. Longque drove straight down, and he, buried in the sand, had no way to dodge. The blade struck his shoulder, shattering his entire left shoulder!

A earth-shattering scream echoed across the desert. Huliè burst out from underground and fled outward.

This time, he truly ran.

Zhao Changhe felt utterly drained, body and soul.

The Human Roll was too strong... Even with such an information gap and environmental advantage, he could only manage a mutual injury, still unable to kill.

"It's all right, you've already done amazingly." Yue Hongling whispered in his arms, "Once we've healed our wounds, we'll..."

Before she could finish, a scream came from afar: "Batu, you motherfucker... ah!"

The voice cut off abruptly, and Batu's voice rang out: "If I let you go back, do you think I'd survive? Die!"

At the same time, the sandstorm gradually subsided, and the ground trembled slightly as an army rapidly approached, sweeping in.

Zhao Changhe had no time to marvel at Batu's ruthlessness, nor did he know if Huliè was dead. He pulled Yue Hongling and rushed toward the horses: "If we get surrounded by the army, we're done for—let's go!"